MONTREAL – There hasn’t been a extra emotionally charged pairing this week than the Worldwide duo of Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim.
With every made putt – and, on Saturday, there have been loads of them – they screamed and fist-pumped and chest-bumped, whipping the delirious Canadian crowd right into a frenzy on the Presidents Cup. When Si Woo Kim pitched in on the 16th gap to tie the match, he ran up onto the inexperienced and gave the “night-night” celebration made well-known by NBA celebrity Steph Curry.
Did all the spirited antics irritate the People?
“I don’t care what they do,” Patrick Cantlay mentioned. “I do know they’re going to get amped up in the event that they make birdies. They made a ton of birdies. They acquired amped up in entrance of the house crowd. The house crowd liked it. That’s nice. That’s nice for golf.
“We simply made yet one more birdie.”
Oh, not simply any birdie.
Cantlay’s 20-footer in close to darkness on the 18th gap gave him and companion Xander Schauffele a satisfying 1-up victory. It gave the People a decisive win within the foursomes session, 3-1. And, extra importantly, it gave the guests a four-point lead that produced that acquainted ominous feeling.
The People are 10-0 when main heading into Sunday singles. The Internationals have received solely three of the earlier 14 head-to-head singles classes, and by no means by greater than a three-point margin.
Traditionally, at the least, this factor is over.
And that solely added to the juice on the ultimate inexperienced at Royal Montreal, the place American gamers mobbed Cantlay, waved their hats and, some, even barked “Evening-night!” on the dejected Kims.
“I’m glad Pat made that putt,” Schauffele mentioned. “It’s most likely probably the most fired up I’ve been perhaps in my profession.”
Cantlay’s dagger put an finish to what had been a rollicking few hours.
The Kims (who are usually not associated) had been the energizing duo that helped spark the Worldwide comeback two years in the past at Quail Hole. That yr, it was Tom Kim’s birdie on the 18th gap Saturday that gave the visiting staff at the least a glimmer of hope, transferring them inside 4 factors heading into singles. The picture of a screaming Kim is splashed everywhere in the occasion’s promotional supplies, though, for all of his histrionics, he nonetheless went simply 2-3 that week in Charlotte.
The 22-year-old has used the identical ways this week, as simply probably the most animated participant on a largely tame staff that’s bridging totally different cultures, languages and personalities. On Thursday, Kim whooped at and stared down Scottie Scheffler, even when the transfer backfired and the Internationals acquired swept within the opening session for the primary time in 24 years. On Friday, he was curiously despatched to the sidelines however took on the function of head cheerleader as the house staff mounted an inconceivable comeback to brush foursomes and tie the match.
An thrilling Saturday on the Presidents Cup might have gone a bit too far, at the least based on Tom Kim.
However on Saturday, after a rousing 4-and-3 victory within the morning that gave the Internationals their lone level in fourballs, the Kims seemingly tried to will the staff again into competition themselves. After going 2 down early, they threw down back-to-back birdies and had been tied making the flip.
Their lusty celebrations had been, after all, in stark distinction to the stoic demeanor of Schauffele and Cantlay. And as different Staff USA supporters drifted over to their match to assist swing the momentum, they determined to present it proper again to the Internationals.
However some gamers, Tom Kim mentioned, took it too far.
“It acquired slightly feisty on the market; I might hear some gamers cursing at us,” Kim mentioned. “That half – I don’t assume there was good sportsmanship there. However it’s all a part of the enjoyable. I perceive it. So the U.S. staff undoubtedly motivated us to go on the market.”
Kim’s declare that he was cursed at warranted additional probing.
“I do it, too. You see me on the market throwing fist pumps and leaping on the inexperienced. It’s all a part of it, I get it,” he mentioned. “I simply don’t assume there’s a necessity to have a look at somebody and curse at them. I simply don’t assume there’s a necessity for it.
“I don’t get damage about it. My emotions don’t damage in any respect. I hope there’s no detrimental feedback. That’s not what I’m attempting to do right here.”
In fact, Kim – who’s now 1-2 this week – wasn’t about to obtain any sympathy from his opponents.
Schauffele mentioned he believed that he and Cantlay handled the Kims with the “utmost respect,” even quieting down the remainder of Staff USA whereas Si Woo Kim lined up his 15-footer on 18 to match.
“I’ve no clue if anybody was doing any of that,” Schauffele mentioned. “I don’t consider any of our guys would do one thing like that. So I’m undecided what he was listening to.”
All Kim heard strolling off the 18th inexperienced had been the groans from Worldwide supporters who had seen this consequence too many occasions.
The Kims’ theatrics – the brashness after which the backlash – determine to be a speaking level for each side within the staff rooms late Saturday evening.
“They will do no matter they need to do,” Cantlay mentioned. “We’ve simply acquired to get the ball within the gap sooner.”
